The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 2001-15991 entitled SEMICONDUCTOR PACKAGE AND METHOD FOR MANUFACTURING THE SAME filed Mar. 27, 2001.
(Not Applicable)
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to semiconductor packages, and more particularly to a semiconductor package which is specifically configured to maximize the dissipation or discharge of heat generated from the semiconductor die thereof.
2. Description of the Related Art
A recent trend in the electronics industry has been to develop semiconductor package structures which maximize the dissipation or discharging effect of heat generated from the semiconductor die of the package. However, semiconductor packages having superior heat dissipation capabilities are often of a size which decreases or diminishes their utility in certain applications. The present invention is specifically adapted to address this deficiency by providing a semiconductor package having superior heat dissipation capabilities and simple, light, thin and miniature structural characteristics, thus allowing the same to be reduced to a xe2x80x9cchip sizexe2x80x9d in order for easy mounting to electronic appliances such as communication equipment. Coupled with the improved heat dissipation efficiency of the present semiconductor package are the benefits of reduced manufacturing costs attributable to its simplified design.
In accordance with the present invention, there is provided various embodiments of a heat dissipating semiconductor package and related methods for manufacturing the same. In each embodiment of the present invention, the semiconductor package includes a semiconductor die which is mechanically and electrically connected to a plurality of leads through the use of conductive bumps. More particularly, the conductive bumps extend to surfaces of the leads which are formed by a partial etching technique. The orientation of the leads relative to the semiconductor die, coupled with the use of the conductive bumps to mechanically and electrically connect the semiconductor die and leads to each other, facilitates a significant reduction in the overall thickness of the semiconductor package, resulting in a light, thin, and simple structure.
Additionally, in each embodiment of the semiconductor package of the present invention, prescribed regions or surfaces of the leads are exposed within the encapsulating portion of the semiconductor package. The encapsulating portion fully encapsulates the conductive bumps, and may fully or partially encapsulate the semiconductor die. In this regard, in certain embodiments of the present invention, a prescribed region or surface of the semiconductor die is also exposed within the encapsulating portion. The exposed surfaces of the leads alone or in combination with the exposed surface of the semiconductor die maximizes the heat discharging efficiency of the semiconductor package. In one additional embodiment of the semiconductor package a die paddle is included, with one surface of the semiconductor die being bonded to the die paddle. One surface of the die paddle may also be exposed within the encapsulating portion of the semiconductor package, thus further increasing the heat discharging efficiency thereof.
The present invention is best understood by reference to the following detailed description when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.